So Walgreens and Express Scripts have buried the hatchet. The question is, can the nation’s top pharmacy retailer regain the billions of dollars in contracted prescription revenues it ceded to its competitors after the two sides severed relations in January? And, given the way Walgreens has adjusted and reset its growth strategy since then, does it matter that much?

In light of Thursday’s news that Walgreens will re-enter Express Scripts' broadest network on Sept. 15, CVS Caremark stated that it now is better able to clarify what it believes will be the overall estimate of the impact from the impasse for the remainder of 2012.

It’s been cited as one of the biggest health crises facing the United States and, if solved, the equivalent dollar value of a blockbuster drug. According to the latest statistics from pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, poor medication adherence costs the country $317 billion per year, an upgrade from the $290 billion calculated in a study released in 2009 by the New England Healthcare Institute.

Rite Aid maintained its same-store sales momentum, posting gains across front-end and pharmacy comparable sales for the sixth consecutive quarter: Overall same-store sales were up 2.5%, reflecting a 2.7% increase across the front-end and a 2.4% uptick across pharmacy, for the first quarter ended June 2.

The days of Walgreens quarterly conference calls focusing primarily on lost prescriptions from the Express Scripts pharmacy network soon may be over with the retail pharmacy's announcement early Tuesday morning that Walgreens and the U.K. pharmacy operation Alliance Boots would merge.

This month, DSN C2B Mobile Insights presents the Drug Store Shopping Report Card. We asked our C2Bers to rate their most recent trip to the drug store — or wherever it is they go primarily to shop for pharmacy and health and beauty items. We received more than 1,500 responses from all over the country.

Walgreens on Monday confirmed its legal dispute with Express Scripts has been mutually dropped in what many analysts are heralding as the beginning of the end of the Walgreens-Express Scripts dispute of 2012.

Medication nonadherence costs the U.S. healthcare system about $290 billion per year, according to New England Healthcare Institute. That big and scary number — the kind whose sheer enormity can make one’s eyes glaze over — is now even bigger.

It was a rainy Thursday morning in Woonsocket, R.I., but that didn’t dissuade CVS Caremark stockholders from flocking to the company’s sprawling headquarters to attend its annual meeting of stockholders — an event that proved to be one filled with optimism as president and CEO Larry Merlo provided key highlights of 2011 and discussed how the company is reinventing pharmacy and capitalizing on its “integration sweet spots.”

Community pharmacy operators are the "canary in the coal mine" when it comes to federal or state prescription programs, said Douglas Hoey, CEO for the National Community Pharmacists Association, during a press conference held Tuesday afternoon.

The battle for public opinion and legislative sway was in full swing Monday as executives from the National Community Pharmacists Association lobbied congressional leaders regarding several pieces of "pro-patient, pro-pharmacist legislation." To counter that effort, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association issued some marketing firepower of its own.

CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo told analysts Wednesday morning that he was “very pleased” with the company's first quarter, as results across both the retail and pharmacy benefit management segments came in at the high end of expectations, and its integrated assets continue to demonstrate success and improve patient lives.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday denied a preliminary injunction filed by pharmacy trade groups in an effort to block the looming merger between pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco.

As the industry geared up for this year’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, Drug Store News talked with NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson about the hottest issues facing pharmacy and his thoughts on the 2012 presidential election.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday accepted an amici curiae from the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices and U.S. PIRG (a federation of 28 nonprofit, nonpartisan state Public Interest Research Groups) on behalf of retail pharmacy plaintiffs in their suit to dismantle the Express Scripts-Medco merger.

SXC Health Solutions and Catalyst Health Solutions on Wednesday announced a merger agreement under which SXC and Catalyst will combine in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $4.4 billion.

Poll

Poll

SPECIAL REPORTS

Are we in the midst of a beauty revolution? Perhaps. It is no secret that the ever-changing beauty category is all about trends, but one could argue that we are embarking on an especially interesting time in beauty as technology is changing the way consumers shop and new innovations strive to break through the noise.

In this beauty report, Drug Store News takes a deeper dive into some of the leading trends that are reshaping beauty.more ...

IN THIS ISSUE

In this issue, DSN examines PricewaterhouseCoopers' "Top Health Industry Issues for 2015;" takes you on a tour of Murad, shares beauty trends and insights and delves into location-based technology and how it is revolutionizing health, retail.Click here to view the issue.